Taxpayer federation calls for balanced Manitoba budget as provincial debt climbs

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Premier Wab Kinew and Finance Minister Adrien Sala to do what Manitoba governments have only been able to do twice since 2009 — balance its provincial budget.

"Manitobans deserve consistent, balanced budgets," said Gage Haubrich, the federation's Prairie director, at a news conference outside the Manitoba Legislature on Monday, a day before Kinew is set to table his first budget as premier.

"This government has talked a lot about its commitment to fiscal responsibility, and we're looking for them to follow through on that tomorrow."

Not balancing the books "means more debt and more interest payments off the backs of Manitobans," Haubrich added. He said the government is looking to spend $2.2 billion on interest payments to lower the province's debt, which sits at around $33.5 billion and continues to rise.

"If that money didn't have to be wasted on interest payments, if the government made better decisions in the past and spent within their means, that money could have been used to hire over 20,000 nurses or build a couple hospitals," said Haubrich, as he stood in front of a digital "debt clock" that shows the province's debt growing in real time.

Extend the gas-tax holiday: CTF

Haubrich also wants to see the province's fuel-tax cut — which temporarily suspends the 14-cents-a-litre tax starting on Jan. 1 — extended. It's something the province has repeatedly suggested it could do come budget day.

"The government needs to look inward and find their own ways to balance that budget," said Haubrich.

If the province isn't able to, Haubrich said the federation hopes the government will at least announce a plan for how it will eventually get the budget balanced.

For political analyst Christopher Adams, that's exactly when he expects to happen Tuesday.

"I don't expect a balanced budget," he told CBC News on Monday.

"All governments, when they announce deficit budgets, they always announce what the road is to getting to a balanced budget."

Budget day comes as Manitoba's deficit for the last fiscal year was recently forecast at close to $2 billion. The NDP has promised to hire more health-care workers, offer electric vehicle rebates and increase funding to municipalities, schools and other bodies.